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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567910">When Rose Chose the Right Lipstick - Clean Version</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_the_baguette/pseuds/sarah_the_baguette'>sarah_the_baguette</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Age Matters (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, pls enjoy, still read at your own risk, this is the clean version</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:35:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567910</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_the_baguette/pseuds/sarah_the_baguette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>inspired by pinterest browsing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rose Choi &amp; Daniel Yoon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When Rose Chose the Right Lipstick - Clean Version</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>How had he not noticed before?</p><p>Him—the perfectionist. It’s not like he hasn’t been paying attention to her lips. They’re always a new shade of pink and glossy. It’s just that he never pictured… this. </p><p>Rose isn’t in today. She asked for a day off to inventory the office’s supplies—if you ask him, that’s not really a day off, per say—and because he’s a nice boss he gave it to her, like any nice boss would. </p><p>But because apparently he’s useless and can’t complete simple tasks without his personal assistant fifteen feet away, he had to text her and ask where she kept her sticky notes. He does pride himself on the fact that he resorted to cutting them in half when he noticed he was getting low but, now, cutting them into quarters really decreases their usefulness. </p><p>When she responded, “They’re in one of my drawers... I can’t remember which, though.☹️ Just rifle through my desk until you find them.” He had no choice but to do just that. </p><p>Could he have gone to another one of his employees? Maybe. But would he pass up this opportunity to learn a little bit more about Rose? No, he would not. Plus, this was strictly professional. Just a professional boss going through his professional PA’s desk looking for some professional-grade sticky notes. End of story. That’s it.  </p><p>But going through her things makes it difficult to remember that. Well, they’re not all her things, his mind supplies, a lot of it belongs to the company!  </p><p>He scoffs to himself.</p><p>Great job, Daniel thinks sarcastically as he’s crouched in front of her little wooden desk. Way to make this less creepy. </p><p> One thing Daniel has always appreciated about Rose is her organization skills. Everything on top of the desk is meticulously placed in perfect order and line. He didn’t mean to, but one day, when his office door was open, he overheard her talking to another employee and when she asked why all her pens were aligned with her stapler and her hole punch, she said, “My whole life has been messy. At least here I can control how messy it gets.”  </p><p>And somehow he understands that on such a personal level. Surely she didn’t mean for it to touch his soul, especially considering the fact that she wasn’t even talking to him, but it did. Maybe that’s why it feels so wrong, messing up all her perfectly organized stuff.. </p><p>But Rose won’t take it personally, will she. To her, this is all strictly professional. </p><p>As it should be. </p><p>He huffs a breath and runs a hand through his hair before gently opening up the top drawer. More pens, some pencils, a couple of erasers. Boxes of staples, paperclips, thumbtacks. But no sticky notes. </p><p>Carefully, he closes the drawer before moving on to the second one. </p><p>He’s proud to say that disappointment doesn’t run through his brain as he spots the sticky notes amongst stacks of paper and boxes of whiteout. Definitely doesn’t. Not even a little bit. None. It’s not like he wanted to look through the third drawer anyways. There’s probably just more supplies in there or maybe there’s other things. Like polaroids of her cat, or maybe she stores that nice perfume she wears in there, or maybe a diary for her inspirational quotes and when she’s on break and needs somewhere to vent about his bullshit. </p><p>Flipping through the sticky notes absentmindedly, Daniel purses his lips. </p><p>Surely it wouldn’t hurt. You know, just to see what’s in there. He would just be another boss keeping vigil on his employees… Right?</p><p>As he stares at the handle of the third drawer, he feels something within himself crack.</p><p>... Fuck. </p><p>He shoves the sticky notes into his pocket before slowly, carefully, opening the last drawer. </p><p>Rows upon rows of brightly colourd lipstick containers stand upright within little dividers. Each little column is organized by little stickers from a label maker that read, “5 minutes”, “10 minutes”, and “15+ minutes”, respectively. </p><p>Daniel stops breathing as he takes in the sight. All are shades he’s picked up on before. Some of the newer ones that he remembers from more recently sit in the 15+ minutes category while ones that must have escaped his memory sit in the 5 minutes one. </p><p>But five minutes of what? She times her… lipsticks? Is it how long they stay glossy? Or when the colour starts to fade? Knowing almost next to nothing about makeup, Daniel can feel his face scrunching in confusion. Maybe he’d ask her next time she—</p><p>Nope. No. Definitely not. How could he explain to her that, well, I found the sticky notes in the second drawer but because of my all-consuming need to know everything about you I compulsively opened the last drawer only to find your whole lipstick collection. I’m sorry, I love you, please forgive me?</p><p>That’s just the most pathetic and ultimately repulsive thing he’s ever heard in his life. </p><p>Suddenly feeling like he’s crossed some sort of line, (or maybe he just feels like throwing up because he’s betrayed her trust) he quickly closes the drawer and nearly sprints back to his desk in desperation to get his creepy ass as far away from her belongings as possible. </p><p>Maybe, he thinks as he pulls the damned cause of his distress out his pocket and slams them onto his desk, maybe I should have just asked Andrew for sticky notes.  </p><p> </p><p> For the duration of her twenties, Rose has always been a morning person. Especially as she got older, she began to truly understand the serenity of waking up with the sun and watching the sky morph into a plethora of different colours before settling into it’s typical beautiful blue.</p><p>Now that she works as a PA though, she finds herself watching the sunrise every morning sitting at her desk, enjoying the natural light flooding from the tall windows of the office space as she sips her morning coffee. And while watching the sunrise and getting an early start on work are good reasons for why she should come into the office before anyone else, she’s got a much better reason.</p><p>She smiles against her cup before setting it down and reaching into her purse. Opening up the little side pocket along the inside seam of her big bag, she reaches in and pulls out her newest lipstick. </p><p>This is one she’s had her eye on for a while. Based on her research so far, it’s a mixture of Daniel’s three most favorite colours. Or, at least what she assumes are his favorite colours. </p><p>She has a system. She puts on a new colour of lipstick every day and times how long Daniel stares at her lips for each one. Easy. </p><p>He’s not subtle about it, either. Rose doesn’t think he means to be so obvious—maybe to other people it isn’t so obvious—but she stares at him a lot too. Regardless, at the end of the day, once everyone has packed up and left—Daniel included—she opens up her third drawer and determines which category that specific colour will be going into. </p><p>The new tube which she holds in her hand may be the be-all-and-end-all of lipsticks for her, or most importantly, Daniel. </p><p>It’s an ombre that consists of bright-red on the inside and soft, deep burgundy on the outside. The two together would have been amazing on their own, but to top it all off, is a gentle glimmer that just makes it shine. </p><p>Glimmer may not be a colour but it’s attracted just as much attention, so she’s assuming that he likes it just as much.</p><p>Rose reaches into her purse and pulls out a little handheld mirror. With an excitement she hasn’t felt since she tried on one of her favorite pink tones, she carefully and expertly smears the product over her lips. </p><p>Smacking her lips together once, Rose turns to put the lipstick and the mirror back into her purse as the elevator dings at the end of the hall. </p><p>Hastily, she throws her purse under her desk and turns to her computer, quickly booting it up and logging in to make it seem as though she’s getting ready for the day instead of getting ready to watch her boss watch her. </p><p>She’s not surprised when Daniel steps around the corner and begins making his way towards her desk. He’s got his head down as he looks down at the phone, and Rose is grateful for that, really, because it gives her a second to admire him.</p><p>He’s wearing one of her favorite suits today; a deep blue one with a white button-up underneath and topped off with a silky red tie, and his usual rose pin. She always loves his black-suit-black-tie combo but this one just makes him look royal. His stride and the way his presence commands the attention of the room blows her away. </p><p>He looks up just as he approaches the side of her desk and his eyes instantly drop to her lips. </p><p>“Good morning, Mr. Yoon,” she says, slightly puckering her lips in a smile.</p><p>It’s an extra second and half before he looks back up at her eyes and smiles back, an adorable blush spreading across his cheeks. “Morning, Ms. Choi.” </p><p>He slowly starts shuffling his feet towards his office again but his eyes keep flicking down towards her lips.</p><p>“I put the file for Zaiba on your desk. You should be able to expect the final report around noon,” Rose says, watching his face the whole time.</p><p>There’s a moment of silence before he blinks and his eyes widen. “Huh?”</p><p>Rose just smiles. “The Zaiba file.”</p><p>“Ah, right. Yep, the file is…”</p><p>“On your desk.”</p><p>“On my desk. Uh, thank you,” Daniel says, tearing his eyes away from her face and looking down at her desk. Oddly enough, he blushes even more when he scans over the wooden surface.</p><p>Rose, feeling bold in her new lipstick, tilts her head and looks up at him through her lashes. Just another variable in her little experiment, that’s all. “Are you feeling alright, Daniel?”</p><p>She didn’t believe it would be possible, but his blush intensified. </p><p>“Uh, yeah. Of course. Feeling… good. ” He runs his hand through his hair and points over his shoulder. “I’m, uh—gonna get to work.”</p><p>“Sure thing, boss. I’ll let you get to it,” before turning back to her computer. </p><p>Daniel stands there for another minute—stunned, Rose hopes—before turning and walking into his office. Rose glances out at the late morning sun, smiling to herself. </p><p>Today is going to be fun. </p><p> </p><p>About half an hour before lunch, the heads of each floor of the building are called into the conference room for the bi-weekly expense meeting. This may be Daniel’s least favorite part of working here. It’s not that they're boring—to him they’re quite interesting and informative—it's that they’re the exact opposite actually.</p><p>In this meeting, things are running smoothly, which is surprising because usually by this point, Andrew has started adding onto the expense projections, while Pom sits quietly in the corner taking notes. It’s a strangely endearing dynamic. </p><p>They’re about five minutes from completing the meeting, when Rose quietly opens the door, waving him over. Daniel stands and politely excuses himself before walking over to her.</p><p>Rose leans in slightly as she purses her lips and whispers, “Daniel, Mr. Fiorelli’s on the phone. He says it’s urgent.”</p><p>Daniel barely catches what Rose says; he’s too busy watching the way her lips form every word. He takes a second and then sighs, whispering back, “Really?,” he says with annoyance,” This meeting is almost over. Tell him to wait five minutes and I’ll be right there.</p><p>Rose nods, “Sure thing, Mr. Yoon.”</p><p>“Thanks, Ms. Choi.” </p><p>“No problem,” she says quietly, smiling before stepping back out the door. </p><p>Daniel  sticks his hands in his pockets before he runs them through his hair again. He pivots to go back to his chair but stops in place when he sees ten sets of eyes staring at him. Immediately uncomfortable, he scowls. “What?”</p><p>He knows he’s in for it when Andrew is the first to pipe up. “So you and Rose, huh?” He says with a mischievous smile.</p><p>There’s a few low chuckles throughout the room and Daniel feels his heart start pounding. “What?” He retorts incredulously, “We’re not—I’m not—”</p><p> </p><p>As he continues to stammer, Andrew’s smirk widens. “Not what,” he teases, “totally into her?”</p><p> </p><p>Daniel can feel his cheeks heating. “What?” He says again. “That’s not— Andrew, you’re—”</p><p>“Totally right and an actual genius?” Andrew reclines in his chair and throws his hands behind his head while regarding him curiously. </p><p>Andrew blessedly decides to take mercy on him. “Alright people, we’ve got what, two more floors? Let’s wrap this up, I’m getting hungry.” </p><p>The rep from the second floor quickly begins into her report and everyone turns to listen to her. Thankful to be out of the spotlight, Daniel slides into his chair and nearly deflates with relief. </p><p>Only a second later though, Andrew leans over to him and whispers, “If it makes you feel any better, I think she’s into you, too.” </p><p>Somehow, that did make him feel a little better. </p><p> </p><p>Usually, Daniel ate his lunch in his office, but Rose is pleasantly surprised when he steps through the cafeteria door on the seventh floor. It’s where most of the employees in the building eat. The large room is loaded with vending machines and comfortable tables and couches. There are indoor trees in all the corners and the large windows fill the room with natural light. </p><p>It’s in that natural light that Daniel Yoon shines in all his glory. His eyes scan the room before landing on her. He smiles and waves a little shyly as he begins to weave around the tables to where she’s sitting with Pom and Andrew. </p><p>As Daniel makes his way over, though, Andrew is the first to speak.</p><p>“Well look who it is!” He exclaims. “Come take a seat. There’s a spot right beside me.”</p><p>“So, Pom and I were just talking here,” Andrew begins, “and he’s never been to a hockey game,” pointing a thumb in Rose’s direction, “and neither has she.” </p><p>“Well, I’ve always been a soccer fan myself.” She starts, “And that’s European football, to you.”</p><p>“So, Rose,” Pom says as he picks an almond out of a tupperware container, “You never updated me on that Dylan guy.” </p><p>Rose laughs nervously. “Oh, it was nothing. Nothing happened,” she says, waving it off with the hand that isn’t poking at her salad. </p><p>Daniel looks nervous as he looks up from his sandwich. “W-who’s this?”</p><p> How had he not noticed before?</p><p> “Come on, Rose,” Pom says encouragingly, “You can tell us.”</p><p>Rose pushed a pecan around the bottom of her bowl. “Well, we’ve texted back and forth for a while but we’re just friends.” </p><p>“Why? Someone else on your mind?” Andrew teases. </p><p>Figuring this was as good a time as any, Rose looks up at Daniel as she answers. “Maybe there is.” </p><p>She watches a whole series of micro-expressions fly across his face as he swallows the bite of food he was eating. His eyes scan all over her face, locking with her eyes a few times and lingering on her lips again. </p><p>“So, Daniel,” Andrew starts, picking up another fry casually, “I have a question for you but I’m not sure I should ask it with company around.”</p><p>The little spell they were in is broken as Daniel turns to glare at Andrew. “Good instinct. Don’t ask it.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s alright, I’ll just text it to you.” Andrew says before whipping his phone out of his pocket. Before he could begin typing anything, Pom snatches the phone away.</p><p>It’s a full on struggle as Andrew reaches across to grab it back, but Pom holds it out even further. Daniel tries to intervene, leaning across the table in the process. In an attempt to pull the phone towards him, Andrew wraps his arms around Pom’s shoulders and squeezes them as tight as he can. The end result just looks like a big hug and Rose can’t help but laugh. </p><p>“You’re acting like children,” Daniel scolds, gently trying to push Andrew away with his other hand, snatching the phone with the other. </p><p>“I bet we both look pretty childish right now, but if you would just give me my phone back then this could all be over.” Andrew says, pushing his shoulder against Daniel’s shoulder. </p><p>“Fine, fine,” Daniel says, and when Andrew pulls back to look at his face he continues, “But, no texting me. Or asking me questions that should not be asked with the company around.”  </p><p>“Okay, okay. No questions. I get it, we’re cool,” Andrew says, throwing his hands in the air. </p><p>Daniel just squints at him, suspicion written all over his face. Andrew just scoffs and smiles, grabbing the phone back.</p><p>Rose can’t help but laugh at the alarmed expression on Daniel’s face as he watches Andrew furiously type something on his phone.</p><p> </p><p>The end of the day came quicker than he anticipated. The steady stream of work he had all day helping the clock run faster than usual. So when he looked down at the little display at the bottom of his computer screen, he was surprised to see it was already fifteen minutes past quitting time. </p><p>He quickly looks up and out his office door, hoping to still see Rose working away. He looks up and sees her still sitting there, and relief flows through him. She’s writing something down on a piece of paper so he takes a second just to look at her. Her hair falls around her face in waves as she writes, her slim wrist moving gracefully across the page. Her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks and her bottom lip rests between her teeth in focus. He feels a blush appear on his face again for like the umpteenth time today. </p><p>She looks up just then and smiles at him. He tries smiling back as best he can but it probably turns into some kind of tight-lipped monstrosity that’s in no way attractive. </p><p>Just as she’s about to look down again, he calls over to her. “Rose, it’s after five o’clock. You can go home if you’d like.”</p><p>She looks up at the clock behind her desk, probably as caught off guard by the revelation as he was. “Oh, I’ve got a few things I’d like to do before I leave anyways. Don’t worry about it, sir.”</p><p>And fuck, if hearing her call him sir doesn’t do things to him…</p><p>He’s really got to get this whole crush thing under wraps because he’s her boss and she obviously doesn’t feel the same way-</p><p> Why did he even make the last rule anyway?</p><p>There’s one solid knock at his door before Rose struts in and nearly slams it closed behind her. When she turns around, she walks straight to his desk and grips the edge before leaning over right into his personal space. The look on her face is terrifyingly arousing and he’s forced to swallow around a lump that just formed in his throat. </p><p>“Do you find me attractive?” She asks bluntly. </p><p>This whole, glowing-in-the-five-o’clock-sun angel just asked him if he finds her attractive. His mind can’t quite wrap around it. “W-what?”</p><p>“I said, do you find me attractive?” She repeats, leaning in further. </p><p>He can’t help it, his eyes flick down to her beautifully painted lips. “I—” Well, there’s no point in lying now. “Yeah, I do.” </p><p>She nods quickly before saying, “Good,” and in the blink of an eye, she grabs him by the tie and pulls him over the table into a kiss. </p><p>It’s not graceful at first, but it’s not long before he sits up a little straighter and she relaxes her hold on his tie and things just fall into place. As he can feel himself getting short of breath and the kiss slowly coming to an end, an automatic impulse takes over him. He honestly can’t explain why he does what he does, but before she has the chance to pull away, he grabs the sides of her face and pulls her back to him.</p><p>When they pull apart, the silence in the room is stifling. The only sound to be heard is the synchronization of their breathing. </p><p>Her eyes are glazed over as she stares at him, her perfectly styled lips have smudged a little, and he can see the little indents left by his teeth. </p><p>“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” she says, her voice smooth as silk.</p><p>Feeling more bold than he ever has in his life, Daniel says, “Well, come here and do it again.”</p><p>Rose smiles and catches his mouth again, moving her lips more fervently over his, leaning against the wall. I love you, he thankfully doesn’t say out loud. </p><p>She laughs. “Daniel, if you had any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you.” </p><p>His mind feels like the little spinning circle that appears when his computer is crashing. “Oh.”</p><p>He can feel himself nod dazedly but hardly even notices as she shuffles out of the room and back to her desk. His mind is running a billion miles a minute. A whole plethora of his dreams just came true within a span of less than an hour. </p><p>His mind is still coming back to itself as he hears her heels clicking down the hall towards the elevator. In a moment of panic, he bursts up from his seat and sprints to his door, his feet sliding across the floor with his speed. </p><p>Why not make another dream come true right now?</p><p>“Rose,” he calls. When she stops and turns, her eyes are wide and curious, filled with question. “It’s almost six o’clock,” he continues, “would you want to have dinner with me?”</p><p>The smile that falls from her lips is blinding in its brilliance. “I’d love that.” </p><p>“Really?” He says before quickly amending, “Okay, good. I’m, uh, just gonna shut down my computer then we can go.” </p><p>She just laughs as he darts back into his office. He does his daily shutdown routine in record time and nearly sighs in relief when he steps back out to see her still waiting there, staring at the art on the wall. </p><p>His heart does an odd little flip in his chest as he looks at her and he can feel himself smiling like a fool. </p><p>She turns to find him staring at her and she smiles back before walking over to him and lacing her fingers with his. “Ready to go?” She asks. </p><p>He squeezes her hand in his. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” </p><p>A feeling of rightness settles in his chest as they make their way down the hall, their connected arms swinging in time with their strides. She hums gently to herself as they walk and he decides it’s a sound he wouldn’t be afraid to listen to forever. </p><p>The shy smiles they exchange when she hits the elevator button make him believe that this is something he could definitely get used to.</p><p> </p><p>Three Weeks Later…</p><p>Daniel remembers something as the two of them are curled up on the couch in his living room. The bright orange light of the sunset bathes them in a soft, warm light and he can't help but laugh to himself as he looks down upon Rose's relaxed features. </p><p> At the sound she looks up and quirks an eyebrow in his direction, a smile appearing on her face. "What is it?" She asks.</p><p>"I forgot to tell you," he begins, wrapping his arms tighter around her middle, "I found your lipstick drawer at work."</p><p>She snorts. "Oh yeah?"</p><p> "Yeah," he says. "I always meant to ask, what were those labels all about?"</p><p>She laughs. "Oh, those? That was just me trying to figure out which one of my lipstick colours you liked best."</p><p>He can't contain his laugh any longer. "You little minx."</p><p>She turns more fully in his arms, kissing the edge of his jaw. "What are you going to do about it?" She squeals when he lifts her off the couch in one fluid motion and begins carrying her towards his bedroom. </p><p>When he kicks the door shut, it doesn't open again for a long time.</p>
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